Separate Ways
by Salzarrotta
Summary: There's a lot of things Fiona isn't proud of... she's hurt a lot of people in her life. And one night makes Fiona decide to fix things with the one person she hurt the most... Sonic...
1. Chapter 1, Act 1

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Rated T for mild language, some sexual actions, and slight violence. And lastly R&R, it'll help motivate me. And constructive criticism is always welcomed! Before reading, I'd like to clarify a few things... but I can't fit everything here, so for now I'd like to say that this fic is an AU. Oh, and one more thing. The events in this fic is set two years after the Super Scourge Incident (StH # 196).

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Separate Ways

by Sol

Chapter 1: Memories - Act 1

* * *

"One doesn't recognize the really important moments in one's life until it's too late."

* * *

She caressed herself slowly, suds from the soap she held washing over her as she bathed. She left the window open, which sent in the cold night air within the shower making her shiver involuntarily on occasion. She wanted it cold, not that it mattered as it never truly bothered her. With her thick coat, the cold barely made any impression on her. Her fur always made sure she was warm. But she didn't like it warm... she wanted it cold...

She wanted to feel that coldness envelope her entire being... she needed it to numb her over... so she would forget about the feelings... the feelings that hurt her so...

She stepped out of the shower and switched it off. Her body soaked in water creating small puddles on the tiled floor, she then grabbed the towel from its rack forcefully as she ran it across her wet form to dry herself. She then ran the towel across her face and head to dry her soaked maroon colored hair. Though completely blinded by the towel, she knew the room well enough to not stumble or fall as she walked towards the mirror.

She removed the towel off of her and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a tangled mess, and her fur was no better. Her expression was that of anger, eyebrows furrowed down and lips curved downwards as well, and her nostrils flared as she breathed. Her eyes stared at that expression with even more anger. She hated what she has become... but most of all, she hated who made her that way...

"How I loathe HIM..." She uttered under a whisper.

As she said those words and thought of HIM, her expression softened a bit as her face fought against her emotions... she wanted to hate him but somehow, somewhere in her thoughts, something fought against her hate. Her face showed anger, but her eyes showed sadness... and she could see it... her glass orbs twinkling with moisture as tears form underneath them. And somewhere within those orbs, HE was there... HIS face saddened as well...

"Why? Why do YOU haunt me so? Why must YOU consistently remain within my thoughts?" She asked from no one in particular. "How I loathe YOU..." She repeated, her hands digging into themselves as they balled into fists. But she suddenly unclenched them and placed one of them on the mirror, her angry expression melting away completely and joining what her eyes showed...

"...and yet... I still find myself infatuated with YOU..." She said, her voice distant and barely audible as she spoke with longing...

"I feel bitter, and yet... I don't... I can't say for sure... but I feel... that I need YOU..." She said sadly. Her head spun slowly on its base as she turned towards the door. "He can't satisfy me... no... YOU were the only one who could..." She said to this invisible being. She then turned back to her reflection, her hand still pressed against the mirror, though she didn't notice that she was pressing harder...

"But he does remind me of YOU... he even looks like YOU..." She continued to speak, her voice having a sort of disgusted tone... Her sadness slowly going into a deeper decline. "But I know he's not YOU..." She said timidly with a tone that even a bat could not hear...

She then sighed heavily, closing her eyes, the slits shaking as she did... she did not wish to close them... because whenever they did and she open them again... she would be reminded that this whole tragedy was real... not a dream... like a nightmare come to life... a nightmare, that she herself created and couldn't wake from...

She shook her head dismissively as she slowly removed her hand from the mirror. Soon enough, she groomed herself and got herself ready for another night with a person she knows she doesn't truly love...

She got herself dressed in her usual night gown. It was black and seemed to be made of a fabric that felt like a cross between linen and cotton. It was soft to the touch, and it made her fur feel comfortable as it tightened around her curves. Frills adorned its long sleeves and collar, designed like orchids, and the same frills ran across its lower left to give the gown a sort of elegant grace. It must have been expensive...

The gown came from the man she was with now. He picked that one out for her in particular, saying that he left no expense at its cost. He said that she was beautiful in it. He seems to show that he loves her, yet she knows he doesn't... or at the very least, she doesn't.

Them being together shouldn't even be considered a relationship, as far as she was concerned. It was just wrong in every way she could fathom... she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, feeling his lustful fingertips across her body at the thought... Why were they even together? She did not love him... nor did he... it was not love that brought them together... it was anger... and hatred that tied they're bonds...

It was true... they found each other through mutual hatred... hatred towards the same person whom they both believed at the time was they're greatest enemy... they hated HIM both. That's why they were together, because they knew it would hurt HIM. And he continues to think so of HIM... but she on the other hand is in doubt...

"I hate YOU for that transgression YOU did in the past. But... I still long for YOU... I really do..." She told the invisible being again, her voice deeply soothing towards her beloved enemy... though her stand on them being enemies were being slowly diminished as each day that passes... she looked over at the open window. Looking out in the distance, her eyes again showed that same brood longing it had earlier. She missed HIM... so much... and there was nothing she could do... she has placed herself here... its her own fault... her transgression...

And as she delved further into grief, a sudden image of HIM passed by her thoughts... HE had a smirk on... she gave an audible moan, a moan of sadness as the tears that she held back beneath her eyes trickled slightly down her furred cheek...

And as sudden as it appeared, she shook her head to be rid of the image and wiped the tear away. She then shifted her gaze towards the clock beside the mirror.

"Enough. Scourge is waiting for me..." She told herself as she walked over to the door and exited the shower room.

* * *

Scourge laid in bed, his hands behind his head, legs crossed and his quills brushed down to avoid ripping the covers and pillows. His face showed ample anticipation as he thought of her gleefully. He was waiting for her. Though he did not care how long, he would wait un-questioningly for his lover, his red haired angel, to join him in bed. He sat up briefly, his lips curled in a semi-pout, as he looked himself over for the seventh time.

He wanted tonight to be perfect, no mistakes or slip-ups, tonight had to be just right. For last night was not...

Their past love-makings were okay at best. He would always release so passionately and gave sighs of audible satisfaction and glee that even the neighbors decided to have their own nightly moments. Yet... she did not show the same... she seemed somewhat sad recently... He didn't exactly know why, but recently whenever they did it, she never seemed truly satisfied...

Blaming himself, Scourge took matters drastically as he insured that tonight was to be different. He scoured into as much as he could and looked up some special books on how to stimulate his innumerably callous lover. The various books told him quite a plethora of different advice on how to excite and satisfy. One such book told him how the environment can affect their senses, and so he bought some new bed covers and even new pillows lined with beautiful markings and scented them thoroughly with a special mixture that was said to excite those who smelt it. The books even gave him plenty of different sensual techniques that, as was written, to entrance the lovers in sexual bliss.

"Tonight's gonna be awesome!" He yelled in excitement as the scent of the mixture seemed to have affected him and he couldn't help but smile broadly at how it would affect his red haired angel. And as he traced over the techniques again in his head, the shower room door swung open.

"Hey baby... you ready?" She said, leaning against the door's frame and trying to sound as sultry as she could. Scourge raised his head, and his smile became even broader.

"You bet your ASS I am!" He growled sexually, emphasizing his point as he purposely made the term 'Ass' sound more animalistic. She walked over to him, her hips swaying heavily with each step as the gown's tightness showed her impressive curves in great detail. Scourge felt his blood rush down his loins, as he un-crossed his legs to remove some tension between his uncomfortably tight shorts and stared at his lover intently and lustfully with eyes so focused and filled with such sexual need and hunger.

She sat beside the bed, her huge fluffy tail swaying about as she lowered herself down the covers with her back against Scourge, looking over him at the corner of her eyes. She fluttered her long eyelashes with such intimacy and speed that each flutter is causing Scourge's shorts to tent a little at each second that passed. His pupils suddenly shrank and drool started running down his jaw as his animalistic need took over him like a bad cold.

"Stop teasing bitch..." Scourge growled again, that animalistic need dripping from each word like acid across the room. As she heard it, she felt the need to back away as that same acidic tone dripped at her fur. But she resisted, and she wiggled her finger 'No' to further tease him.

"Nuh-uh... take it easy tiger..." She said, again, trying to sound as sultry as she could. She found it difficult to be sexual tonight though... just like almost every other night that has passed since her new found outlook on this relationship... it was making her feel uneasy, as Scourge's acidic tone now dripped on his breathing and she felt it tingle across her fur and could have sworn that it could melt her away...

As she looked and felt Scourge's lustful form, she smelled something within the air... the special mixture was now making its way into her senses... yet, with all its proud claim she felt unfazed by it... it felt nothing special to her... it was just another scent that reminded her how low she has dove into this relationship... the scent now became like poison to her... causing her to slowly become numb... not with lust... but rather, disgust... not just at the situation, but at herself as well...

She couldn't bring herself to do it tonight... she wanted to delay it as much as possible.

But Scourge wasn't one to be denied...

Scourge shook his head whether in disapproval or something else, it did not matter, his expression was not even faltering. He then grabbed her violently, her body swaying a little to the side uncaringly like a blade of grass against the wind. He brought his lips to her neck and pressed kisses need-fully. She gave a slight moan as he began his animalistic ritual. But she didn't moan because it felt right... no... it was the complete opposite. It felt very wrong... and fear was forming in her mind...

She did not fear what was about to happen. She and him have done it quite a number of times already. No, she feared for another reason... and that reason was about HIM...

Before, when they were starting out, when it was still about hurting HIM, she thought of many ways to hurt HIM... and this was one of them. She would give herself willingly to Scourge and at first, enjoyed it. Because it was her way, at the time, to bring sadness on HIM. But now... it was painful...

It was painful because she felt guilty... guilty over sullying herself to him to hurt her beloved... yes, her beloved... HIM... she could no longer find herself to hate HIM completely anymore. She hated what HE did before, but that was just a phase... she has out-grown that phase... and it was only till recently that she regretted what she has done to HIM... her beloved...

Her eyes went blank a little as her expression became sorrowful. All the while, Scourge made his kisses rougher, his lips feeling like sandpaper rubbing against her fur and the flesh underneath... and as he continued, his hands started exploring her body along with his kisses. His hands felt the same now... they felt like his kisses... painful...

*Why?* She asked distantly as she locked herself in her thoughts. *Why couldn't it be YOU...? YOU should be the one doing this to me... YOU'RE the only one who deserves it...* She told the invisible being again. She wanted to feel HIM right now... she wanted HIM to do this to her and express HIS love to her as she would to HIM... Suddenly, for no reason at all, another image of HIM came to her... this time though, HE looked even more saddened as HE shed tears...

Seeing HIS saddened face and tears struck her like a bolt of lightning, pain pulsating across her body as her mouth went agape with saddened shock... oblivious to what was happening outside her thoughts, a stray tear ran down her cheek. A tiny river of sadness across a valley of fur, carrying with it all her regretful sorrow...

Just then, Scourge's kisses reached her face, and when his lips tasted salt, he suddenly stopped kissing her...

Afterwards he stopped caressing her body and slowly pulled away. And when she no longer felt his poisoned touch, she suddenly snapped out of her trance and turned to face him, shocked to see his expression...

His jaw was down, showing a line of razor sharp teeth. His eyes no longer showed the animalistic desires that they once had, they now carried a sense of aghast and irritation and a somewhat angry glint. He just stared at her, almost unblinkingly. Silence fell both of them as they each thought of what to do next...

"What's wrong with you?" Scourge took the initiative. "It's like your not even trying!" He growled, his irritation present in his tone. Scourge didn't want anything wrong happening tonight. He used to blame himself for how she was behaving lately. But now, he thought that maybe it wasn't him... it was her... and he just couldn't take it anymore, as he took out that aggressive nature that he always carries ready to be unleashed.

"Don't you care! I've given you so much, and all you could do is act like a freakin' zombie!" Scourge continued to rant. "Don't you like me? LOVE me?" He gave emphasis on the word 'Love' heavily, hoping to bring out something from her.

But she was silent... she turned away again, her saddened expression again showed across her face with more force than it had before. She didn't want to answer that question... as she felt no need to... But Scourge was persistent. He reached out and grabbed her head and forcibly turned her to face him.

He was angry. He has given her so much in their relationship. Clothes, food, jewelry and a place to live! He feels offended that after all that, she would shun him away!

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Scourge yelled, making his anger known. His grip on her face tightened with greater anger.

At first she felt saddened by the whole situation. But suddenly, Scourge took hold of her face and forced her to turn to his direction and yelled at her like he owned her. She quickly felt angry... furious... How dare he grab her face! He had no right! She then grabbed his hand tightly, and with great force, pulled his hand off of her. Shocked over the sudden change in her attitude, Scourge couldn't react and just looked at her gaping.

"I don't need to answer to you! And don't you dare touch me like that!" She screamed furiously. Scourge's shock quickly dissipated as he heard her and he suddenly grew aggressive again.

"Don't you talk back to me like that! After all that I've done for you, this is the thanks I get!" Scourge yelled, pointing his finger at her, appalled by her attitude. "I've given up so much of myself for you! I've practically given you my life! My love!" Hearing him repeat the word 'Love' insulted her to such a high degree that it felt like the Sun's fire was welling up inside her. And her fury seemed to rise exponentially.

"Love! You call weekly nights of sex love! There's more to love then just sex!" She screamed even higher and angrier slapping his finger aside. Drawing closer to him, eyes burning with rage, Scourge couldn't help but back away... She practically loomed over him right now...

"We practically do it three times a week! And there wasn't a conversation that we had that didn't involve you mentioning or talking about SEX!" She yelled even louder at him, her voice like fire across his own body filling him with great fear to even talk back, and with each word she spoke she poked at his chest with great force to emphasize her anger, and like her voice each touch felt like fire and Scourge couldn't help but feel helpless as she enveloped him in that fire...

"You think you've got the right to call this relationship love!" She continued. "You don't really love me! And I don't love you either! I regret ever meeting you!" But as she said that, her words stirred something in Scourge, and the fire before him seemed less fearful as his own fire welled up...

"But you were the one who wanted this relationship in the first place!" He retorted back with that welling ball ablaze with equal zeal to hers. She opened her mouth to bring her flame alive, but no words came out as Scourge's words seemed to extinguish her rage... and soon, she no longer found herself in any position to argue, as what he said was true... her fire now completely gone, and his was now enveloping her and she backed away. Now it was his turn to loom over her...

"You were the one who asked me to be with you from the beginning! You were the one who wanted this, and now you have the gull to complain!" Scourge's form no longer loomed over her... he towered over her greatly as his angry blaze rose even higher then hers was, and she found herself no longer able to fight back...

"Your... your right..." She replied sadly, almost lower then a whisper, and buried her face in her hands. And then, she started crying...

Hearing her sobs and the tears that seeped down the cracks in her hands, Scourge backed down a little, her tears seemingly putting out his flame, and he calmed himself. He then shrugged his shoulders feeling frustrated and pulled the covers up angrily as he laid down to sleep.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever... (tch!) We'll continue this tomorrow..." He said, still slightly angry, and forced himself to sleep.

After hearing him say that, she un-buried her face and looked at him... she gave him a very heavy death glare as her pupils showed a tiny flame within them.

*Damn you...* She thought as malice enveloped her. But the malice instantly disappeared as, again, HE made an appearance in her mind...

She dried her tears quickly and then stood up and walked out of the room... slamming the door angrily on her way out...

Scourge took notice, and sat up. Eyes squinting angrily. He gave an irritated grunt before going back down to sleep and muttered the word...

"Bitch..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	2. Chapter 1, Act 2

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Same as before. Hope you guys enjoyed the previous chapter. Enough of my rabble, read on! Oh and one more thing. I'd like to thank Sam Brody or Moon Princess and Sacred Insanity for reviewing my fic so fast! I saw the date and time you two posted and wow so fast! Thanks you guys. I just hope others would review the future chapters as well.

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Separate Ways

by Sol

Chapter 1: Memories - Act 2

* * *

"The dearest friends are separated by impassable gulfs."

* * *

She walked heavily across the hallway, her footsteps making sounds even through the carpeted floor. She was making a point that she was stomping the whole time. She wiped her face roughly, the tears from earlier were still slightly wet on her cheeks. As she walked off, she thought only of getting away from that room and that ghastly fiend. She marched herself to her room. Though she often slept in Scourge's, she didn't want her stuff littered around his house. She had her private reasons. Like right now.

She reached the door to her room and turned the knob angrily. As she entered, she slammed the door violently, further pointing out that she was very angry. She moved around the room and made her way to her side table drawer. She grabbed the top shelf's handle and slowly opened it and rummaged for something inside.

It took a while to find what she was looking for. She even threw out some of her other stuff out of the drawer to find it. She didn't care about those things now, what mattered was that one particular object. After a minute of scrounging around, her eyes widened as she found the item in question. She took it out of the drawer slowly and gripped it so lightly as if it was fragile and precious. Which it was to her.

It was a photograph... a framed photograph of HIM...

Before, she didn't understand why she kept the picture. There was a time that she almost threw it away... but she didn't... something stopped her... she didn't understand why until recently... when she figured it all out...

"How I miss YOU so... and yet I would often speak so ill of YOU... I'm so sorry... for everything..." She spoke to the photo sadly, and then, she forced a very weak smile...

"Listen to me... talking to this picture as if it was YOU..." She said, still sounding sad. And without really noticing, she started crying again...

She had to admit... she's been such a fool... she used to have such a beautiful friendship with HIM... but she gave that all up because of one mistake that HE made... or at least she thought that HE did...

When the incident occurred, she couldn't think straight, and blamed it all on HIM. Even though it wasn't HIS fault... it took a while for her to think on it clearly. But the term 'While' in her case was used very loosely... and when it did finally clear up, it was too late...

"How I wish I could take it all back... then maybe... maybe..." She said, her voice starting to crack. Her sobbing grew stronger, her cheeks once again soaked in sadness as she thought more of HIM and the mistakes that she has done...

She blamed her best friend for something HE didn't even commit... and what was worse, when HE apologized, she didn't accept it... wholly anyway. And what was even worse, is when she crushed HIS heart...

Back then, she smiled and laughed at that. How HIS face was contorted in shock and awe, eyes fighting back tears as HIS mouth hung agape at her... and she smiled... an evil smile, as she broke it to HIM hard... and she smiled... an evil smile, as she enjoyed and savored every moment watching HIS world crumble away... bit by bit... and the cherry on top to bring that moment's pain was when Scourge appeared... and that was truly the highest point of pain for HIM... the look in his eyes when it happened... it looked as if he has given up on life...

The image of that moment was burned into her mind. And back then, she would often revisit that image in her thoughts for what she thought was personal enjoyment. But now... no... maybe even back then... she hated to see it... it tore her apart to even fathom what HE must've felt... How could she... doing such a horrible thing to someone who didn't deserve it...

She felt disgusted and dirty over herself... and no mere bath, no matter how soothing or plentiful, could ever make her feel clean... she clawed at her chest with her free hand, clutching the fabric of her night gown, sobbing eyes still locked on the photo. She felt like her heart was ripping her apart from the inside... like it was being wrapped in thorny vines... the pain was unbelievable... and each second that passed that she stared at the photo, she felt even more guilty... and slowly, weak...

"How could (sob) I have (sniff) been so (sob) STUPID!" She cried out loudly, practically screaming the last part as she collapsed to the floor with a bone cringing thud. But she ignored the pain... no pain was greater then what she was already feeling... she could be tortured with almost every known method and she would not have felt a thing. Because this pain was something no physical pain could ever match...

Her body laid on the floor in a sort of bent over position as she looked at the photo she was holding, and afterward hugged it tightly as if it was her life-line... which, to some degree, it was...

How she wanted it to be real... that it was really HIM hugging her right now... she wanted to see HIM so badly...

"Oh please... (sob, sob) please... (sob) take me away from here... (sob, sob) please... (sob) save me... (sob, sob) please forgive me!" She cried out even louder as her voice became shrill...

Her heart was shattering as she cried out on the floor... she wanted to be with HIM again... if it was possible... but she knew she couldn't have HIM... because after everything that she's done, it would be a miracle if HE even talked to her... or even think of her... and she had no one to blame anymore... not even Scourge... because truly, it was ALL her fault...

But suddenly... HIS image came into her thoughts again...

Though she was still crying, she slowed down enough to make her concentrate on the image... The image showed HIM standing proudly, hands beside HIS waist with HIS chest puffed out forward. And behind HIM was light. Beautiful bright light radiating across the blackness of her thoughts.

But it wasn't HIS stance that got her, nor did the light. It was the smile... HIS smile... radiating it's own form of light...

She knew that smile so well... only HE could have that smile... filled with so much warmth and happiness, love and compassion... but most of all hope... whenever she saw that smile it always brought her hope... and for so long her mind hid that smile from her... even when it was in plain sight, her mind fogged it with hatred... but now... she could see it again... she wanted to see it again... not just in her thoughts, no, she wanted to truly see it... to see HIM...

She reached out to HIM... one hand towards HIM, the other still grasping the photo to her chest. Her eyes were wide and needy as she reached for HIM... she couldn't see anything outside her thoughts... nor did she care... all that mattered was HIM... she slowly got up, still reaching and staring at HIM. HE returned the favor and reached out to her as well.

She shakily rose from the floor, her eyes still fixated at HIM and watery, arms still locked in place as a joyous smile embraced her features. She walked slowly, her legs shaking as she put weight on each step she took. But she didn't care if she collapsed again, she would still move forward... towards HIM... she forced herself towards HIS image in her thoughts as if he was really there. She continued to reach out and she called out HIS name with all her might...

"SONIC!"

* * *

Scourge walked across the hallway, a hand behind his head and the other on his waist. A troubled and frustrated expression on his face. Thinking perhaps its best to settle the argument now and be done with it, he opted to talk to her. And as he closed in on her room, standing in front of the door, he heard her scream...

"SONIC!" She screamed behind the door, and he felt that aggressive nature of his rise again as he grasped the knob tightly as if to crush it. Was HE here? Or was she just screaming out in spite? He wasn't really sure, but one thing was sure... he was angry.

He swung the door open forcefully, heavily breathing in a growl-like manner as the name of his enemy echoed in his head. *Damn HIM!* He thought, wishing HIM dead as he stomped inside. And when he entered the room his eyes widened...

He looked... no... stared at her, eyes locked at her in asking what it was she was doing... She was standing weakly, one arm extended forward, shaking a bit like she had trouble lifting it. Her expression was alarming... she looked horrible, like she just cried her heart out... which she did. Her eyes were puffy, and the fur on her face sagging down with heavy moisture. But what brought that alarming and worriful feeling to Scourge was despite her messy saddened appearance, she was... smiling...

He did not understand... why was she sad? Why was she smiling? It was all just confusing... but then he remembered what she screamed out earlier... He soon lost care why she was like that. Because he knew somehow that it involved HIM, and it made his anger rose back and without any second thought, he walked over to her.

"What the hell are you doing!" He yelled in question at her. But his question fell on deaf ears as she did not seem to notice his presence. He then took hold of her arm, the one which was grasping on the frame, and then yanked it like a chain and swung her to face him, and in doing so prompted her to drop it...

As her arm was yanked, her thoughts cleared up. Sonic's image disappeared, and was replaced by Scourge's angry glare...

"NO!" She screamed at his face in horror as she saw him and struggled out of his grasp frantically like she has just seen death before her... Scourge looked down on what fell from her grasp and let her arm go, causing her to fall to the ground with a painful thud...

Scourge picked the frame up and looked at it... his face twisted harder and his angry expression transformed into something demonic as he stared at the frame with so much anger, malice and disgust that even Enerjack himself would have trembled with fear... he then turned to her, all that evil in his eyes focused at her...

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" He yelled, his voice cracking in the air, laced with heavy rage, his grip on the photo tightening as he said it. His words though did not reach her, she was more preoccupied with what he was doing to her photograph of Sonic... her beloved... How dare he take hold of that frame! Seeing his filthy hands sullying her only remnant of her beloved, her faced contorted as deeply as Scourge's and she stood up forcefully.

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF MY BELOVED!" She yelled with so much anger in her tone that Scourge could've sworn the floorboards shook... he was paralyzed before her outburst as she stared at him with eyes so deadly that she could have killed him with her gaze. His shock was so great that he didn't even realize that she swiped the photo out of his hands.

Her anger dissipated a little as she got the photo back, cradling it in her arms and shielding it like a mother beast to her cub... but her momentary calm-ness was short-lived as her anger rose back.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE! THIS IS A PRIVATE MATTER! GET OUT!"

"Wha-" Was all Scourge could reply as he tried to piece together words and recover from his paralysis. His face having this slight confused look, feeling a little broken up.

"Are you deaf? I said, GET OUT!"

"Get out? Private matter! That photo... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Scourge blurted out and yelled out the last part pointing at the frame, as he finally got his train of thought back and pieced his thoughts together. She fumed at his words and spun around to show him her back.

"HEY! Don't turn your back on me! I demand an explanation!" Scourge said angrily in reply to her turning against him without a word.

"EXPLANATION! I don't need to explain anything! Just-leave-me-ALONE!" She explained to him saying the last words slowly in emphasis to get her point out. She wished to end it at that and hoped he would leave... but he didn't... he stood there, feet planted firmly on the ground expecting a better explanation.

"How long have you had that photo! And why do you even have it! Tell me!" Scourge demanded angrily, flailing his arms forward in aghast.

"It's not any of your damn business!" She replied, just as angrily, her back still against him and still grasping the frame.

"None of my business! I'm your boyfriend!"

And when she heard him saw those words, she felt insulted in the highest possible manner... she gritted her teeth so tightly that it felt like they were cracking, she spun around to face him, her pupils shrank and her eyes bloodshot with so much anger.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF MY BOYFRIEND!" She barked out with great and furious anger. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SUCH A CLAIM!"

"HEY, DON'T YOU YELL AT ME LIKE THAT! NEED I REMIND YOU THAT YOU WERE THE ONE WHO ASKED FOR ALL THIS!"

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, YOUR WORDS OR WHATEVER!" She then brought the frame to Scourge's face. "HE'S THE ONLY ONE I CARE ABOUT!"

"OH YEAH!" Scourge pushed the frame aside. "WELL GET THIS, HE DOESN'T FEEL THE SAME WAY!"

And hearing this, her anger rose even further that her eyes looked as if they where shooting lightning. Scourge's anger was of equal zeal, his eyes shooting the same and clashed with hers as they locked glares. Their yells so loud that both could literally feel the floorboards rattle with their outbursts.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT! HE'S SONIC, MY BELOVED! OF COURSE HE CARES!"

"AS IF! NOT AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO HIM! HE'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"SHUT UP! OF COURSE HE WILL! HE'S MY BEST FRIEND!"

Hearing her say the word 'Best friend' though hit something in Scourge's thoughts... and slowly, he visibly calmed down...

"Best friend?" Scourge said with an amused tone as he gave a short chuckle. "That just makes the reason for not forgiving you all the more true." He ended with a cryptic smile.

Seemingly calming down herself, she took his words and gathered them in her mind and paused, eyebrow raised, as she pondered what he meant. "What do you mean?"

Scourge chuckled, louder this time, acting like whatever he was implying was plainly obvious. "If you have forgotten I'm Sonic's other self, as such, I know how he thinks."

"So?" She asked, not exactly sure what it was Scourge was trying to say.

"So? I have been betrayed by MY best friends, on more than one occasion I might add. And I never forgave any of them. So, being Sonic's other self, he would be feeling the same way."

Taking in a little of what he said, she lowered her head, staring at the floor, a little bit of depression sinking in along with a little bit of anger... how dare he spit lies of her beloved! "...Liar..." She told him, her voice low and hateful as she told herself not to believe Scourge's claim... Scourge could only grin maniacally.

"Am I? What makes you so sure? What exactly makes you believe that after everything that you did he'll forgive you?"

Hearing this, she took pause and reconsidered what Scourge said... she lifted the photo towards her, staring at it. *Could he be right? What if Sonic never will forgive me... then... then...* she thought sadly, her hope drifting away... her form slumped a little, her eyes no longer having that powerful gleam it had earlier...

She felt sickened... her legs felt weak and her arms were drained of their strength and she lowered them to her side. She felt like she would collapse at any moment, her grip on the frame she held loosening by each passing moment as Scourge's words struck her hope down like a hunter killing a bird in the sky... plummeting down with great speed and force, with which it crushes itself on impact...

The pain that was set aside earlier returning with great force... and it was excruciating... but now it was joined with something just as painful... Scourge's words...

His words twirled within her thoughts... and her mind swirled violently like a whirlpool as all of her hope at being with her best friend, her beloved, were stripped away from her and torn to pieces by the hands of Scourge, Sonic's other self... the mirrored fiend of her beloved... his anti-Mobius counterpart... counterpart... counter... part... her eyes sparked, her mind clearing in an instant as a new realization became clear to her.

She laughed slowly, building up from a small chuckle to a hardy outburst, shocking Scourge completely as he backed away slowly...

"What's so funny?" He asked, staring at her like she was insane.

She continued her laugh, to which caused uneasiness to settle within Scourge's mind... he backed off a few paces further away from her. Still quite unsure why she was acting in such a manner...

"Well, if you must know, it has something to do with what you just said..." She told him, her laughing fit ending with a triumphant smirk. A smirk which riddled Scourge profoundly.

"What exactly did I say?" His confused state apparent in the tone of his voice as he spoke.

"It's when you said that you never forgave your friends when they betrayed you. And when you reminded me that your Sonic's other self!" She exclaimed excitedly, her eyes gleaming and her face shining brightly with happiness.

"That's why your laughing? Are you insane or something?"

"Yes... I must be... for listening to you!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger at Scourge, her azure eyes burning with a new found hope. "Like you said, your his other self, his anti-Mobius self! As such, you will always do the opposite of what the original does! Therefore, without a doubt, Sonic WILL forgive me!"

Listening to her words and looking into her eyes and seeing that re-kindled hope burning within. His expression sagged... but beneath it, anguish... because in some way, he was just officially dumped... and it hurt... not his heart. No form of heart-break could ever harm him, for he has done it countless times with so many women. No... what really hurt was his pride... something he considered sacred. For as long as he lived he had never let a woman dump him, for it was always him who dumped them.

But she just did... she dumped him... and what made it truly hurt his pride was her reason... she dumped him for Sonic, his greatest enemy... and he didn't like it...

He wasn't going to let him be happy again, no... he won't...

"Well then..." He said, approaching her with a sinister smile, his cerulean eyes having this evil intention gleaming in them. "...I guess I'm going to have to stop you from getting to him..." He said deviously while reaching towards her slowly, fingers coiled like a vice. Seeing his hand reach for her, and realizing what he meant, she quickly brought her right foot up and kicked Scourge square in the chest!

"Oof!" Scourge got the wind kicked out of him as he was pushed back a few feet away. His eyes widened a little, shocked that she had such strength. "ARGH!" Scourge quickly recovered and lunged at her, she couldn't react fast enough though, and as she tried to roll away, Scourge caught her by her arm. And for the second time that night, Scourge's sudden grasp of her arm made her drop the frame again...

"Why you!" Angered over once again dropping the frame, she used that anger to fuel her strength and took hold of his forearm then flipped Scourge off the ground with ease, promptly causing great shock to the hedgehog as he was slammed hard on the floor, his quills ripping the wood on impact. She panted heavily, calming herself as she let go of Scourge's arm and looked at her hands, seemingly shocked herself, before averting her gaze back towards him.

"Knocked out..." She whispered, clenching her fists as she looked at Scourge's body on the ground.

Not knowing how long he was going to be knocked out, she quickly picked the frame up and ran to her dresser. She did not have time to be picky, so she grabbed whatever was in there and ran to her shower room.

Surprisingly, after looking over the article of clothing she picked, she realized that the clothing she picked out was her old orange jumpsuit...

A small smile came to her lips with her eyes lidded down a little as she looked it over, remembering the old days... but as she did, her mind quickly reminded her that Scourge could wake up at anytime. She then hurriedly and somewhat frantically got ready and placed the photograph on the sink.

After putting on the jumpsuit, she looked underneath her sink cabinet and pulled out her old orange boots that she used to partner the jumpsuit with. And wrapped around the boot's shin, was her old yellow bow.

She pulled the bow off the boot and brushed her hair down like it used to and then tied the bow on her head. After putting the boots on, and looked herself over in the mirror, she once again resembled what she used to look like... and from now on, she will forever keep this look, in testament to her new found hope and resolve to once again see her beloved.

"No matter what..." She said, finishing the look by wearing her old white gloves, which she found inside the jumpsuit. She then picked the frame up and gave it one last stare, her eyes gleaming with determination. She gave the photo a quick kiss before finally placing it into her jumpsuit. She moved towards the window, preparing herself to jump. But before she did, the shower room door swung open...

*Damn... should have locked it...* She thought, a little bit of fear following those thoughts, as she looked towards the figure at the door... it was obviously Scourge, finally awake and even more furious then ever as he stared at her intently, his stare lined with daggers...

Looking at his form however, she noticed that he wasn't in any condition to chase her, as he looked like he had a hard time breathing. And she smiled at this...

She gestured her hands in a 'See ya!' manner and jumped off without a second thought. Scourge ran to stop her, but stumbled to the floor as he clutched his chest... *Damn... that bitch!* He cursed in his thoughts, wincing a little as he stood up and limped towards the window. He looked out, scanning the area for her whereabouts, hoping perhaps that she hurt herself jumping off... but he forgot that his new home was only a one story house in the suburbs... he looked and looked, swaying his head sideways in quick glances, his anger building with each sway...

"DAMN!" He growled loudly, slamming his fist on the window's frame. He looked on angrily, thinking nothing but death wishes to the woman that betrayed him, and the man who was responsible for it... but mostly at her...

"You won't get him back... mark my words Fiona... you and Sonic will never be together..." He growled lowly, slamming his fist on the wooden frame again and leaving splintered wood underneath his fist. "...never... I swear it...!"

* * *

To be Continued...


	3. Chapter 1, Act 3

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Sorry for not updating in a while. How long has it been? Two? Three months? Anyway, I'm sorry. It's not so much writer's block but rather my school work have been keeping me pre-occupied. Well, enough of my lame excuses. Read on! Oh wait, before we go on, I need to tell you old readers that I've decided to change the title! My bro got a chance to read my little fic and told me that the title didn't fit the story. So, I decided to change the title to better suit the story! Sorry if I confused some of you because of that... anyway! Enough, and again, read on!

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Separate Ways

by Sol

Chapter 1: Memories - Act 3

* * *

"Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor."

* * *

Red and orange hues stretched across the grand sky covering the land in its tangerine blanket as the evening drew close. The trees rustled in the breeze lightly, adding a somewhat becalming mood as the sweet scent of flowers flew with the wind. This seemingly honey-coated scent found its way up the balcony of a large castle. And on top of this balcony was a young man, leaning on the railing with a somewhat satisfied smile across his face as he looked over the beauty of his surroundings.

He took in a deep wiff of this sweet scent and sighed heavily as he felt the heavenly aroma sent a light chill up his spine. And once again, he smiled satisfyingly as he thought of how relaxing today had been.

"Its days like this that make me happy I returned to the castle." He said in a rather mellow and dreamy tone as his eyelids drooped downwards and he felt the the wind seemingly lull him to sleep. But his respite could only be but a moment. For unbeknown-st to him, another came to join in his enjoyment of the coming evening.

"I knew I'd find you here." A feminine voice said from the archway of the balcony. The young man turned towards the voice slowly, eyes no longer lidded down as he felt himself awakened from his peaceful mood. He smiled at the figure at the archway and gestured her to his side, to which she smiled with a polite yet withdrawn enthusiasm. She lightly walked to his side and gazed at the horizon with him.

"Beautiful ain't it." The young man said, elegantly waving his hand towards the view. But this elegant gesture was done in an exageratingly foolish manner which received a light giggle from his guest.

But as foolish as he passed himself as, he knew better. His guest did not come here to be amused by his antics.

"I know why your here." The young man said seriously, deadpan without hesitation as he went back to leaning against the railing.

"Of course." She replied, tilting her head down to the side with a sheepish smile and a weak chuckle. "Am I that obvious?"

"Yes. (slight chuckle) Yes you are." He replied in a playful tone. And at this, she chuckled a bit more. But the playful mood disappeared as soon as it came and was replaced with the same seriousness from earlier.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He said, the tone of seriousness in his voice apparent.

"Are you sure? You didn't act so fine yesterday."

"I was just in shock. I've cooled down haven't I?"

"Yes, I know." She said with a somewhat dull tone. But as dull as she sounded, she wasn't feeling the same way. If anything else, she was very worried...

All seemed still for a moment. A rather odd silence wedged itself between the two. She took a moment to consider what was happening. Not just about right now, but rather what happend yesterday... She wondered how the events from yesterday would change how they would all live, but more importantly, she wondered how it will change him...

The mood seemed to turn gloomy as the silence continued. Their expressions sagging as well. But somewhere in this gloominess, a question was asked.

"Why do you worry so?" He asked in a rather saddened and withdrawn tone. But as serious as he was, his question seemed out of place somehow... it wasn't the question itself, but rather in the way he said it. The structure of the sentence seemed much too elegant for him. It was very unlike him. The very thought of him acting like a civilized individual all seemed too humorous to her and it drowned out the gloom in her, and she found herself softly chuckling.

This of course made him raise an eyebrow along with a deeply puzzled look on his face. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. (chuckle) nothing..." She answered in between her soft laughter. She turned to face him and saw that puzzled look on his face. She couldn't help but smile. He always seems to find ways to look like a fool even when he doesn't know it.

*I guess I shouldn't have worried too much.* She thought with relief.

"Whatever." He replied, with a slight pout while crossing his arms. "Anyway. You don't have to worry about me. Like I said, I'm fine."

"Okay." She replied feeling her mood lighten, and he seems to have lightened as well. And as it did, they felt an overwhelming need to bring closure. So, they hugged.

"Thanks, sis."

"No problem, bro."

But the moment was destined to be disturbed. For not long after that tender moment began, rushing footsteps clattered towards them. And before either of the two could react, a little orange blur came from the archway and lunged at the two.

"Big brother and sister!" The orange blur said before enveloping the two in a big hug. Though 'big' wasn't the right term to use when it came to this litte orange bundle of energy. Because her hug could only manage to encircle the two's legs.

"Hello there Cream." The two said in unison as they looked down with smiles towards the little orange rabbit. And for her part, Cream looked up and beamed at the two with unbridled joy.

"What are you doing up here?" Cream asked with as much innocence as a child has.

"Nothing, just enjoying the view." The supposed older sister said, to which Cream gave an audible "Oh." and released her grip to look out at the aformentioned view. The two looked at her with as much joy as an older brother and sister could have to their sibling. But in honesty, the three are hardly related. Though the two are truly siblings, Cream though was not. But she and her mother have been living in the castle for a long time now and have gotten used to the idea that they were related.

Not that you could blame her. The two have been treating her like she really was their little sister since the day they all met. And as far as they were concerned, they wouldn't have it any other way.

After having her fill of the view, or most likely bored of it, Cream turned to face her self-appointed older siblings with a playful smile on her face.

"Let's go and play!" She said in a straight-forward and joyful tone. The two could only chuckle once more.

"Sure. But after dinner. I'm famished!" The older brother said as he patted his belly.

"Okay." Cream answered as she darted off and went ahead. Leaving the two alone once again.

"She sure is energetic." The older sister said as she began to walk off to where Cream was headed.

"Yup." The older brother replied as he followed behind her.

"She kinda reminds me of you."

"(Chuckle) Maybe. But she also reminds me of you at certain times."

"Yes. (Chuckle) I know."

And that was that. Nothing else was exchanged between the siblings throughout the time they were walking towards dinner. For nothing was really needed to be said. Everything just seemed fine. But unfortunately, dinner would have to wait. Because before they could arrive at the castle dining room, a loud banging from the castle's front doors echoed...

* * *

The loud and frantic banging caught the attention of nearly everyone within the castle. And it wasn't long before the siblings, along with Cream and her mother, rushed to answer the castle doors. All four them exchanged puzzled glances, almost mentally asking the other who the mysterious guest is. Save for Cream, she just walked beside her mother. A spring in her step as she gave no heed to what was happening.

As they all reached the doors, the siblings banged back at whoever was on the other side to signal the mysterious guest to stop. Which was what the guest did. The siblings held the handles of the colossal doors as they pulled them open. Surprisingly, the doors didn't seem as heavy as they usually are. On the other side of the doors apparently, the mysterious guest was actually pushing the doors open as well.

When the doors have finally been open, someone immediately rushed in. That person ran towards the siblings' side and took hold of their hands and said to them, nearly yelling at them...

"Sonic, Sonia! We need your help!"

"Wha-" Was the only response the siblings could muster as the guest's sudden intrusion caught the two completely off-guard. As the two siblings tried to bring their wits about, Cream's mother walked up to the siblings and the guest.

"Now, now, calm down." She said, taking the frantic guest's hands off of the siblings'. The guest was a bit surprised by the gesture and stepped back embarassed.

As the guests calmed down a bit, the siblings got their wits about and took this time to look the guest over.

He was short in stature but of an average build. He had golden orange fur and white tufts here and there. But what makes this distinguished guest famous is his twin tails. The siblings smiled, for they knew who the guest was without a second thought.

"Hello there Tails. Its been a while." Sonic said to his long time best bud.

"Yes Sonic, it has." Tails said, a tone of joy apparent in the way he spoke. "But there's no time for pleasantries. We must get to the matter at hand."

"Of course." Sonic said in agreement shaking his head playfully. Sonic's glad that after all this time, despite everything that has happened, Tails hasn't changed that much. He's still the little kid he knows so well. But Sonic had to admit that the little guy has grown a little.

"So, what's the situation?" Sonia asked and moving beside Sonic.

"Well, someone has infiltrated Freedom HQ."

"I see..." Sonic said while rubbing his chin. "...that's all?" Sonic asked with outstretched arms and a slightly flabbergasted tone.

"Are you sure you needed to inform us of this Tails?" Sonia asked. "One intruder doesn't exactly seem like an emergency."

"But it is! I wouldn't have came all the way from Freedom HQ if it wasn't!" Tails said, a little surprised that Sonic and Sonia aren't taking him seriously.

"Then tell us Tails, who's the intruder?" Sonic asked and crossing his arms.

"That's one of the problems Sonic... we don't know..." Tails explained, sounding a bit ashamed.

"You don't know? How can that be? Freedom HQ has cameras in every hallway and room. How could anyone have managed to enter without being detected?" Sonia asked, concerned on how anyone could have infiltrated a base with highly trained Freedom Fighters and not be detected.

"That's why we need your help. Whoever this intruder is must be a very skilled person. Otherwise we could've handled it ourselves."

"But the bigger question is that how you haven't even managed to capture this intruder." Sonic interjected. Tails nodded in agreement.

"You're right. But that's an even bigger problem. Because you see, the intruder is hiding in the base."

"Hiding? So you don't know where the intruder is?" Sonia asked again, still shocked how this mysterious intruder got passed all those cameras and maintain its identity.

"Not exactly." Tails said while scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"We know where the intruder is. We just don't know WHO the intruder is." Tails explained, and receiving a handful of raised eyebrows from the two siblings. Even Cream raised her eyebrow, but that was probably because she couldn't understand what was going on.

"I don't understand, why wouldn't you know who the intruder is when you know where the intruder is? Is it someone we don't know?" Sonia asked, cupping her chin.

"Not really. But you see... the reason why we don't know who the intruder is, is because the intruder locked him or herself in the one place where the base's cameras aren't available." Tails explained, and again receiving a handful of raised eyebrows from the siblings.

For a while, Sonic and Sonia didn't quite understand the situation... then, it hit them. A mysterious intruder busted into Freedom HQ, went into hiding in a room whose location was found yet the cameras aren't available... and the intruder is yet to be captured... it all adds up to one place...

"Tails..." Sonic and Sonia said as their eyes widened with realization and shock. "...the room that intruder is in... its-" They were about to say it, but Tails beat them to it.

"Your old room..." Tails said. And with that said, a slight cold chill ran up both Sonic and Sonia's spine as they heard their old room being mentioned. Sonic slowly un-crossed his arms and Sonia clenched her fist.

"Impossible!" Sonia declared with a heavily angered tone. "Our room's security is tighter than Prison Island! No one could've gotten in without the password!"

"I know..." Tails said, his tone low and serious. "...you and Sonic are the only one's who know the password..."

"So that's why..." Sonic said, his expression racked with shock. "...that's why you want us to come."

There was a brief moment of silence afterward. And throughout the conversation that occurred, Cream was listening very intently. And Cream knew from the way the conversation went along with her big brother's facial expression that her brother was going to leave again...

*Why? Why must big brother leave every time I want us to be together?* She thought, both angrily and sadly. She wanted to voice out her feelings on the matter but just remained silent. But despite that, she began to tear up. She hated how things like this always happen. Being a child, she doesn't understand the complexity of a serious situation, nor did she care. She just wanted to be with her big brother and sister.

*These battles and missions are always getting in the way with me and my brother and sister's time together!* She yelled in her thoughts looking away while holding in her tears.

"That settles it." Sonic said. "We HAVE to go check it out. Right Sonia?"

"Of course." Sonia replied. And with that, the siblings and Tails readied to leave. But as Sonic stepped forward to leave, a hand took hold of his arm. Looking at what was stopping him, he saw Cream... slightly crying...

*Cream...* Sonic thought. He then remembered the promise he had made earlier...

Cream didn't budge, not even a little as she just held her brother, silently saying him not to leave. But as she did that, she felt a hand take hold of her shoulder. She looked up to see her big brother kneeling down to her level and looking her in the eye.

Cream's big brother's eyes showed a mixture of different feelings and thoughts. He wanted to say something to her but couldn't in fear of hurting her. Cream could tell how conflicted her big brother was. She knew her big brother wanted to go check on the situation and she also knew that he wanted to keep his promise to her.

There was a long silence afterward. Neither spoke as they thought of what to say, all the while, Cream was staring into her brother's eyes. And somehow... while she was looking into her brother's eyes... she saw words... she didn't know what the words were actually saying but... she knew... she understood...

Thinking more about the situation, she realized how selfish she was for asking such a favor in the middle of something serious. It was rather unbecoming of her. She had to decide what was best... even if it meant that her brother was going to leave her for a while...

"It's okay." Was Cream's immediate reply.

"Are you sure?" Sonic replied, testing her resolve on whether or not she really meant it.

"Of course." Cream said and giving her brother a hug. "Just promise that you'll make it up to me when you get back."

"Sure." Sonic said and returning the hug. As the hug neared its end, Cream's mother walked by her side and reached towards her. Cream took her mother's hand and both left Sonic and the other's to their business. As Cream left the hallway and back towards the castle, she heard her brother say before they all left...

"Tails, Sonia, let's get this over with soon!"

* * *

It wasn't much of a problem for Sonic and the gang to reach Freedom HQ. Given both of the hedgehog sinblings' great speed, it only took a few minutes for them to reach their destination. Tails rode piggy-back on Sonic the whole way to save some time and give the little guy a break after he ran the whole to the castle. And no sooner then when they arrived, they all headed towards Sonic and Sonia's old room.

Sonic and Sonia stopped near the entrance of the hallway down the aisle of rooms. Sonic set Tails down and all three continued onward. Along the way, despite the seriousness of the matter, Sonic couldn't help but let his thoughts drift off a bit as he reminisced of his glory days when he was living in Freedom HQ.

He looked about the various things down the hallway and the rooms that they all passed by. He remembered each room and their owners quite vividly.

*Can't believe I still remember all that...* Sonic thought as he continued walking down memory lane. Or in this case, memory hall.

As he was pre-occupied with that, Sonia also had her thoughts adrift. Only her thoughts were focused on the identity of the intruder.

*I wonder who it could be...* Sonia thought trying to list down all of their enemies and matching up who's responsible for this.

But as the two siblings were having their heads in deep thought, they didn't realize they had arrive at their destination.

"Ah, Sonic and Sonia. Good to see the two of you again." Someone said from nearly out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Was the first thing that came out of the siblings mouths as they lost their train of thought. The unknown individual chuckled lightly at the two.

"Sorry if I had interrupted anything."

"No, of course not." Sonia replied followed by a sheepish smile which Sonic mimicked as well.

"No worries. What matters is that you are here." The unknown individual said, waving his hand dismissively. Sonic and Sonia looked the man, and knew from his portly form and large tusks who he was.

"Hello Rotor, how have you been?" Sonia asked their old friend and extending her hand for a shake. Which Rotor did not hesitate to take.

"I've been great, thank you. And you?" Rotor replied as his shake with Sonia ended and moved to shake Sonic's.

"We've been great as well dude." Sonic said to their big purple friend.

"Glad to hear." Rotor replied. "But let's save the other pleasantries after we have dealt with the matter at hand."

"Of course. So, what's the situation Rotor?" Sonic asked.

"Well, to put things simply, someone infiltrated our headquarters and managed to open the lock on your old room."

"That much we already know Rote. Anything else though? Like, how that guy got in?"

"I'm not really sure myself Sonic. I personally made sure that this door was sealed up tight with no way of entering it without the password." Rotor explained while moving closer to the door in question and tapping lightly on it's frame.

"Even I couldn't open it." Tails interrupted. "The security was too tight for me to hack into."

"Of course it is Tails." Sonia said walking past the fox and went to stand next to Sonic. "Because believe it or not, this room's security is re-in-forced with magic."

Hearing this, Tails went wide-eyed for a moment before snapping his fingers in realization. "So that's why!" He exclaimed, feeling a bit relieved. He now understood why, despite his best efforts, he couldn't open the door.

"With that matter aside..." Sonic said, bringing the subject back to what it was earlier. "...let's all find out who this unknown intruder is." After that, Sonic looked over to Sonia and nodded. The two jotted down the code with lightning fast speed. Their hands moved so fast that Rotor and Tails, despite their intellect and memory, didn't even get a chance to see what the code was.

The confirmation code was accepted, and a beep came. Soon, the door swung open with a swoosh and Sonic and Sonia gave themselves a high five. Afterwards, all four of them entered. Sonic leading the group in.

As they went inside, Sonic felt something in the air... he couldn't exactly describe what it was, but... he knew... he's felt this presence before... yet... there was something different...

As they made their way inside, they noticed that nothing within was moved or even touched. The room looked just like what it was when they left. They entered further and made their way to the second half of the room where the beds were. And as they made their way there, they felt a strange tension in the air, and all four friends could feel it stiffening their joints from nervousness and anticipation. They didn't know exactly what to expect, but they knew they needed to be ready for the worst...

And as they made their way there, a voice said from within the room...

"I knew you'd come..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	4. Chapter 2, Act 1

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: And the story continues! Wow... thanks you guys! Knowing people are reading my fics and leaving reviews just makes my day! I just wish I could write just as fast as you guys can comment... but that's why I also appreciate your patience! Anyway, moving on. Besides this story, I'm working on some other fanfic ideas that I hope to finish over the holidays. For what these fanfics are, check my profile for more info.

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Separate Ways

by Sol

Chapter 2: Apologies - Act 1

* * *

"We often miss those we love. But we especially miss those we've once loved."

* * *

"I knew you'd come..."

A mysterious voice said from within the room. Sonic, Sonia and their friends were caught completely off-guard by this as the tension that had welled up in them were released in one sudden burst. They briefly composed themselves before frantically scanning the room for the source of the voice.

Within moments, the group's shock dissipated. And all turned to only one place that the voice could have come from...

With slightly hesitant steps, the group worked their way towards the area where the beds were. The lights within that section of the room was very well lit. In fact, all of the lights, including the lampshades, were on. And the first thing that the group noticed about this section of the room is that, unlike the previous area of the room they were in where everything was clean and untouched, this part of the room was a mess...

The floor was covered with thrown about clothing, jewelry, various nick-nacks and other items. The drawers and closet were open, and the beds were a mess. In other words, whoever the intruder was, was looking for something. And quite desperately too.

But soon, their attention was pulled away from the mess as they all turned to see the very thing that they all came here for...

There on the bed, they saw... the intruder... staring right at them...

But before anyone could react, or even identify who it was, the intruder lifted off the bed and rushed to the person in front of the group, which was Sonic at the time.

"SONIC!" The intruder yelled and lunged at the blue hedgehog. Sonic and the group were all shocked by this and tried to back-track. But Sonic was in so much shock that he found himself paralyzed on the spot. Unable to properly react, Sonic closed his eyes tightly and waited for the worse...

But... it didn't come... instead, he felt someone... hugging him...

Sonic couldn't believe what was happening. Someone... was hugging him! But... who? Then he remembered the intruder.

*But... why...?* He thought as he pondered the bizarre situation. But as he did so, he stopped, as he felt something moist running down his shoulder...

Sonic forcibly opened his eyes, which took more effort than what was usually required, and looked down at the intruder. And the first thing he saw when he looked was... red?

"What the...?" The words just left his lips without him even registering it. But his words did not fall on deaf ears. The 'red' intruder removed itself off of Sonic and took hold of his shoulders. From there, the intruder just stared at him within the small gap that the intruder placed between them. Sonic slowly straightened his head to stare back. But this only led to him returning to his earlier state of shock.

Sonic's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. His mouth hung open and quivered as he struggled for words. His mind was short circuiting with each passing second. And his whole body felt like jell-o. In other words, he looked like a complete spazz.

"Hello Sonic... its been a while..." The intruder said with teared filled eyes and a un-worldly warm smile that could've melted the ice off of Blue Ridge Zone in minutes.

Sonic couldn't believe it! He shouldn't believe it! It wasn't possible! It wasn't even plausible! The person in front of him right now was the last person he expected to see at this very moment! And was the last person who he'd expect to carry such an expression of unworldly warmth and joy! It just didn't compute! It was-! It was-!

"It- It- C-can't BE!" Sonic screamed his head off saying, shaking fiercely as he slowly brought his hands up and try to touch the very face in front of him. But as his hands neared this person's face, the hands that Sonic didn't notice that were on his shoulders were gone, and were now taking hold of his guided them to the very face he was trying to touch.

"Yes Sonic... its really me..." The intruder said with a voice that Sonic knew, without a doubt, could only belong to one person, and one person only...

"Fiona? Is that really you?" Sonic asked, still feeling doubtful. But Fiona nodded lightly to his question. Sonic then brought his hands to finally touch her face, and was met with flesh and fur. From that point on, Sonic knew that this was no dream... this was real. And most importantly, this was her. This was Fiona...

Then, without warning, tears burst forth from Sonic's eyes like a river as he began to slowly sob. He couldn't believe it... after two long years without any sightings, reports or even rumors of Fiona's whereabouts, here she was, his long time best friend and beloved was standing in front of him. This was the happiest day of his life. No words could describe how much joy he was feeling.

Everything just stood still. Frozen in time. All that mattered was what Sonic was looking at. Fiona... after so long... she has returned. It was a dream come true. He got to see his beloved once again. But as Sonic's thoughts began to slightly settle from the sudden rush of happiness, he began to think... why? Why after all this time... she just came back? Suddenly, Sonic began to remember something... something he had gravely forgotten...

He had forgotten... who it was he was dealing with...

Sonic did his best to hide his joy as he withdrew his hands from Fiona's face. And as he did, he felt his own heart ache with every inch of distance that he placed between him and and her as he slowly backed away.

*I have to be strong... I can't let her manipulate my feelings again...* Sonic thought, trying to reason with his aching heart. He then shielded what he could of his heart from her as he thought of nothing but the pain that she has caused in his life. And surely enough, he found himself no longer happy in Fiona's present company. At least, that's what he has convinced himself of.

Fiona felt Sonic's touch leave her, and immediately stared at him questioningly with an anguished look.

"Sonic?" Fiona asked, her lips slightly quivering.

"Why?" Sonic asked, his voice cracked yet soft. "Why did you come back?" He needed to know... at the very least, he needed to understand why she came back.

"I... I came back... for you..." Fiona answered. Fiona knew from the start that Sonic wouldn't accept her just like that. She needed to convince him that she was truly sorry for everything that she has done. So, she opted to tell him nothing but the truth. And pray that Sonic would believe and accept her.

Sonic looked into her eyes as she said those words... and he saw nothing but the truth. Not even a hint of fault.

*Could it be...?* Sonic thought, his heart's guard lowering a bit. But not enough to let himself be vulnerable.

Sonic tried hard to resist whatever forces was making him happy to see Fiona. But they were strong. Very strong. Sonic wanted to believe her... he really did... but certain circumstances is preventing him from doing so. The scars that Fiona left behind were deep... deep enough to give Sonic a reason to hate her. But he can never hate her... his heart would never allow him... after all... his heart belongs to her...

"Why should I believe you?" Sonic asked, still unsure if he should trust her.

"Please Sonic... you have to believe me!" Fiona said desperately, clasping her hands together as she began to tear up. "I know what I did long ago was wrong... and... I'm sorry... so very sorry..."

"Being sorry isn't enough, Fiona."

"I know... Sonic... I was a fool... a fool who didn't know a good thing when she had it..." Fiona began, her face soaked with moisture from her tears. "I let my hatred take over my life and made a mistake that I could never take back... but..." Fiona paused, then she suddenly reached out to grab both of Sonic's hands and gripped them tightly in hers, leaving Sonic shocked and frozen on the spot.

"Sonic! Please! I'm really sorry for what I did! That's why... that's why I came back. I want to set things right! I want us to be together again." Fiona stopped briefly as she guided Sonic's hands to her chest.

"The pain... is unbearable... my heart... longs for you... and... somewhere, I know... your heart feels the same..." Sonic listened to her words, and then, he listened to her heart...

He knew not of how hearts truly spoke, but he could feel them... and he could gauge what their intentions were. And if there was a heart that Sonic knew the most, it was Fiona's. And he listened to her heart, he knew it was calling to him. And as it did, his own heart started beating in unison with Fiona's.

His heart was calling out to hers as well...

Sonic knew that this was it... this was the truth. But as far as feelings go, and as far as personal experience go, he knew how easily emotions can be manipulated... and destroyed. Although the truth that their hearts spoke was loud enough that even the farthest regions of space could hear, he still held the shield of his heart high. He cannot allow a repeat of the past, no matter the circumstances.

"I'm sorry..." Sonic began, taking his hand off of Fiona's chest. "But I still feel unsure..." Fiona listened and understood.

Fiona knew that she needed to show him proof, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she still cared for him. So, she reached into her jumpsuit and pulled out her only proof. Her definitive proof, and gave it to Sonic.

Sonic took the item and briefly scanned it. Immediately, Sonic recognized what it was and went wide-eyed with shock. It was a photograph... a framed photograph... of him...

Normally, keeping a photograph of the person you loved was proof enough you still cared. But even then, it wasn't enough to truly prove your love. But there was something special about this particular photograph... which is why Sonic went into shock. This photograph... was the photograph Sonic himself gave Fiona a long time ago... a time long before the 'incident' even occurred...

Sonic once again burst into tears as he clutched at the frame, his tears fell and left droplets on the frame's glass. Sonic now understood, despite the pain and betrayal, and despite everything that has happened between them, that Fiona, his beloved, has never stopped loving him...

"Y-you kept i-it? After all (sniff) these y-years?"

"Yes Sonic. I kept this memento since the day you gave it to me..." Fiona explained, walking up to Sonic and hugging him tightly. "Back then, when my mind was clouded with hatred. I didn't understand why I kept it... but now... I know why..." Fiona continued, tightening her hug further, despite Sonic's quills sending tiny pin-pricks of pain across her arm. She didn't mind though. She would bear any pain necessary so long as she and Sonic were together.

"I once found love with you... but despite that, I made chains that binded us away from each other... but one night ago reminded me of the love we once had..." Fiona paused briefly before continuing as she broke the hug and gazed at Sonic's tear filled orbs.

"It reminded me of the times we touched... though back then, my mind was still clouded with hatred... But it was still there... my love for you was still there... and when we went our separate ways... when I committed the greatest mistake... no, sin, that I could make to you, my love. My heart ached for you..." Fiona again paused as she brought her hand to lightly caress Sonic's cheek.

"You can call me stupid... you can call me a heartless bitch... and I most certainly deserve those titles. But please understand that despite it all, one thing remains true..." Fiona took this time to lightly and quickly peck Sonic's cheek before continuing with what she was saying.

"I love you, Sonic. And I just hope that you could find it in your heart to forgive me..." Fiona finished, as silence wedged itself between the two. All she could do now was wait... and hope... everything that she had wanted and needed to say was said. It was now all up to Sonic...

Sonic looked at her, and despite her tears running down her face and soaking her fur. Sonic couldn't help find her beautiful. He held up his hands, and wiped away the tears that covered her face. That was better. Tears never truly suited his beloved. And with the tears that masked her face were gone, Sonic could see her face more clearly. And he never saw anyone more beautiful.

Sonic understood her plea, and decided that he would forgive her. Despite everything that she has done. He would turn the other cheek and let it all pass. It was in his nature. A trait that has been a double-edged sword throughout his entire life. But despite this, he never regretted any of the times that he was taken advantage of because of this trait. And besides...

*She's worth it...* Sonic thought as he gave her a warm smile. "Fiona..."

"Yes Sonic?"

"I'm willing... to forgive you."

As Sonic said those words, Fiona threw herself at Sonic and embraced him. Sonic of course returned it and whispered lightly into her ears.

"As long as you promise to never leave me again..."

"Of course I'll never leave!" Fiona cried with a joyful tone muffled by sobbing. "I want to be with you... forever!"

"I feel the same way..." Sonic said softly as they both just stood there, locked in each others arms. But as beautiful as the moment was... things aren't always that simple...

"I won't allow this!" Someone yelled from behind the two and breaking their union. "You cannot be serious Sonic!"

* * *

It was Sonia, Sonic's twin sister, finally out of her trance as she stomped her way towards the two of them.

"Sonic! How could you just let her fool you into believing that crap!" Sonia yelled as she forcefully separated the two from each other. She then dragged Fiona away from Sonic, taking a defensive stance in front of him, as she glared at Fiona.

During the entire time Sonic and Fiona were having their little moment. Sonia, Rotor and Tails all just took a back seat and kept quiet the entire time as they watched the entire thing happen. But hearing her brother forgive Fiona like that, despite how much pain she has given him was something Sonia couldn't simply allow!

"Sonia? What are you doing?" Sonic asked his twin sister as he walked to stand beside her.

"What am I doing! I'm stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life!" Sonia exclaimed as she brought Sonic behind her again, still in a defensive stance and still glaring at Fiona.

"You stay away from my brother, you whore!"

"Sonia! What's gotten into you!" Sonic cried out, taking hold of Sonia's shoulder.

"Have you completely lost your mind! This is the woman who ruined your life! She was the one who caused you so much pain and suffering! And your just willing to forgive her just because she was sorry!"

"I love her!"

"Love her! That is the same reason how she took advantage of you and broke your heart!"

"Its different now! I've changed!" Fiona interjected, causing Sonia to fume with even more anger.

"You expect me to believe that!" Sonia exclaimed, marching towards Fiona and grabbing her by the scruff of her jumpsuit. "I have no reason to doubt the evil in your heart! So leave my brother alone!"

"Sonia, please! I have no ill intentions what-so-ever towards Sonic!" Fiona said, taking hold of Sonia's arm as she struggled to escape her grasp. "You have to believe me!"

"Sonia, stop!" The two women stopped their argument as they both turned towards Sonic. "Please stop."

"But Sonic!"

"Its okay Sonia. I understand that you just want to protect me, but please trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"I can't risk seeing you sad again Sonic!"

"Sonia, look at Fiona." Sonic told her, and Sonia turned to look at the vixen in question. "Tell me if you see any intention of evil in her eyes."

Sonia looked at Fiona's eyes. Actually, glaring at Fiona's eyes. She definitely didn't trust her one bit. But taking the time to examine her, she saw no evil or malice in her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she slowly loosened her grip on Fiona.

"...Fine." Sonia said, moving away from Fiona and crossing her arms angrily. "I'll consider forgiving her. For now..."

"Thank you, Sonia." Sonic said cheerfully as he pecked his sister on the cheek. He then walked over to where Fiona was and took her hands into his. "Let's go. We have a lot of catching up to do."

As Sonic took Fiona's hands, she had trouble accepting the kind gesture. After hearing the things that Sonia said just now... they were all true... how could she just go back into Sonic's life and pretend like nothing happend... it wasn't right for her to just do this and expect everything to be fine...

"Sonic... I... I don't know... everything Sonia said was true... I think I was being selfish, thinking I could just come back into your life like this..."

"Don't say such things. You've already proved to me how sorry you are, everything else doesn't matter." Sonic said, comforting her as he lightly pecked her cheek.

"Everything will be fine."

"Sonic..." Fiona said weakly, once again throwing herself into Sonic. "I never want to leave your side again..."

"Me too... I just wish..." There was a long pause, as Sonic bit his lip.

"I just wish I could express my love for you like I used to..." Sonic said softly, suppressing what seemed have been hurt in his voice. Hearing this, Fiona broke away from Sonic and looked at him questioningly.

"What do you mean, Sonic?" Fiona asked, unable to understand what her beloved means. Sonic looked away from her sadly... he then brought his hands up, as he took off his left-hand glove. Revealing a golden and sparkling object on one of his fingers...

It was a ring...

"Fiona... I'm sorry, but... I'm... engaged..."

* * *

To be Continued...


	5. Chapter 2, Act 2

Disclaimer: Sonic and co. don't belong to me. They belong to the dudes and dudettes at SEGA.

Author: Well, what do you know... and update! It's been so long, and I'm really, REALLY SORRY! I just had huge writer's block for the past few months that I had to write a different story to get rid of it! Oh, and if you're wondering what that story is, its called "Nocturnus Reborn", check it out if your interested. Before we go along any further, I would like to just say that Mobotropolis in my fanfic is twice as large as it should be and is separated into two kingdoms and are connected by a series of bridges and railways. The two kingdoms are called East Mobotropolis and West Mobotropolis respectively. (or EM and WM, corny, I know...). On the eastern side is where the hedgehog siblings' castle is, while on the western side is where the castle of another certain royal family that we all know. I just wanted to say that to avoid confusion. Anyway, enough of my rabble. Read on!

Update: This is the touched up version of the original Chapter 2 - Act 2. The previous was little lacking, so I improved it slightly.

Brief Note:  
"_" indicates a character's speech  
*_* indicates that the character is speaking through thought  
(_) indicates an action between a speech or thought

* * *

Separate Ways

by Sol

Chapter 2: Apologies - Act 2

* * *

"Don't let the harshness of reality break you. Because even then, there's a bright side hidden in between."

* * *

"Fiona... I'm sorry, but... I'm... engaged..."

As Sonic said those words, Fiona's eyes went wide with shock... and despair shortly followed afterward... She was no stranger to this feeling. She has felt despair's harsh grasp many times. But this... this was a level of despair that reminded her of the most painful moment of her life... the incident from long ago... where she and Sonic parted ways... and she lost faith in the only person she ever cared for...

But this was a little bit more beyond that... the fact that after everything she has went through, despite how determined she was to change things, and after finally getting Sonic's forgiveness... fate's cruel hand delt yet another blow to her already fragile psyche.

Fate has always been cruel to her... the incident... the betrayal... and countless other events that ruined her life. But the most cruel of all was when fate made her drift away from her closest friend, her beloved, Sonic... And now, fate was doing it again...

Fate always knew the right way to cause her pain... but this... this was a whole new level of pain...

"Fiona?" Asked Sonic, as he looked at her with hurt. Not just for her, but for himself as well... he didn't plan on making their reunion... unpleasant...

"Why...?" Fiona began, her voice a little weak for her own good. "Why does this keep happening to me!" She yelled this time, her voice desperate and errate.

"Fiona, its alright we-" Sonic tried his best to calm her, but Fiona wasn't listening.

"What have I ever done to deserve all of this!" She said through partially gritted as she balled her fists with anger. "What have I done to bring so much suffering into my life!"

She then collapsed on the floor, dropping knee first with a thunderous thud. She then hunched over and pounded her fists at the floor with great force.

"Haven't I suffered enough!"

Sonic looked at her sympathetically, and Fiona looked at him with eyes near tears. She slowly stood up, not even breaking eye contact, as she shakily walked towards him. Her lips quivering with hurt. But it wasn't just the lips that told the story of her pain... you could feel it... you could see it... it was in her eyes... Sonic couldn't look into those eyes. It hurt too much to see her that way... and so, he looked away in shame, as a tiny tear streaked its way out of the corner of his eye.

Sonic knew that she had to know, it would have made things easier... or so he thought. He didn't really expect her to understand... well, maybe just a little. He knew her well enough to not break so easily. But he didn't expect her reaction to be this... hurtful...

Sonic had a good feeling of what would come next... Fiona would demand to know who he's engaged to, then she'll cry her heart out... and then a lot of yelling... a LOT of yelling... at least, he thought that was what would happen. He definitely didn't expect what happend next...

He heard the air whistle, as something rather light traveled through it. Then... he heard a slap... a thunderous slap whose sound cracked against fur and flesh with a sickening and blood-curdling whip-like sound.

Sonic knew that a slap was a possibility. Knowing Fiona well enough, he'd be in its receiving end. But he wasn't... he wasn't the one who received the expression of hurt and pain that he would've expected it to be...

Sonic turned to look forward, and he gasped at what he saw...

Sonia had advanced on Fiona, and slapped her across the face...

Time seems to have frozen in place, and the room was silent beyond normal circumstances. Everything just stood still as everyone within the room just stared at Sonia, who had done something that none of them were expecting...

Sonia slowly withdrew her hand. Glaring angrily at Fiona as she watched the vixen stare blankly in shock.

"Don't even think about touching my brother..." Sonia said coldly, her tone so thickly lined with malice that it permeated the air around her.

"You have just been forgiven for your heinous crimes in the past. Don't expect any special treatment beyond that." Sonia continued, and then pointed a finger at Fiona. "My brother's engagement is none of your concern. And I expect you to not overreact like that if you expect to even be within ten feet of my brother!"

Fiona just stared blankly in space, but despite that, she could easily understand the words that Sonia were saying. The slap from earlier left such a strong impression that only Sonia's voice was entering her thoughts. She didn't even notice Sonic, who had began speaking to his twin sister...

"Sonia! That was uncalled for!" Sonic exclaimed, somewhat angrily.

"Someone needed to remind this bitch that being allowed to go near us is a privilege, not a right." Sonia explained, before turning to face her brother. "And it is a privilege that can easily be removed at any time."

Sonic couldn't believe what Sonia was saying. Fiona was one of their childhood friends growing up. So how could Sonia treat her so harshly... does Sonia hate Fiona that badly over her betrayal? If anything, Sonic should be the one pissed-off. He was the one who got hurt the most during that incident. But he's not, he learned to let go. Sonia on the other-hand doesn't seem like letting go anytime soon.

* * *

Sonic then began arguing with Sonia, and as they did, Fiona just stood there stunned. All the while, Sonia's words right now, along with what she said before, started to sink into Fiona. She came to realize that... what Sonia said about her being with Sonic is a 'privilege'... it was, in a way, true... the fact that she was even within Sonic's good graces, let alone within speaking terms, is a miracle in its own way... it should've been enough for her...

She was expecting far too much. Thinking that once she's been forgiven everything would be fine, and Sonic could be hers... she shouldn't have thought that. It was rather selfish of her to think so. And besides... it's not like she's the only one that has captured Sonic's heart... and as that thought passed her mind, a sudden image popped into her head... it was a certain red-haired woman that she knew all too well...

She shook the red-haired woman's image away. She knew the history between them... she should've seen this coming... she was just... too late...

"Sonic..." Fiona muttered, though it was weak, Sonic and Sonia stopped arguing instantly and looked at the sad vixen. "It's alright... Sonia's right... I shouldn't have overreacted like that..."

She then turned to face her beloved with a small smile. "Being by your side is enough... I don't need anything else..."

"Fiona..." Sonic said, walking up to her and taking her hands into his. "I don't know if I can live knowing your unhappy..."

After hearing Sonic say that brought a smile to Fiona's face. But the words came as a surprise to her... it kinda brought an all too familiar memory to mind.

"(Giggle), you know what's funny...?" Fiona said, a stray tear ran across her face as she held up her smile as best she could. "You said the same thing to me and HER, a long time ago..."

It was Sonic's turn to act surprised. He didn't quite understand what she meant at first. But it all came back to him in an instant... it was the long forgotten childhood promise...

"(Sigh), I know... and it seems that I wasn't able to keep both of you happy..." Sonic said. He sounded sad, but Fiona only giggled, which made him raise a brow in confusion.

"To be fair, I think SHE is far happier than I am... now that SHE has you again..." Fiona said, thinking the most obvious choice of WHO Sonic is engaged to.

"If only that were true..." Sonic said sadly, which made Fiona lose her little smile.

"What do you mean, Sonic?" Fiona asked. It was her turn to look confused. She did not understand, what did Sonic mean by 'If only that were true...'?

"I don't if I should tell you... at least, not yet..." Sonic said, slowly withdrawing his hands from Fiona. But Fiona caught his hands, and held them tighter than he did.

"Please Sonic. I want to know..." Fiona asked.

Sonic thought about it for a moment. He wasn't sure... Fiona has already gone through so much tonight... but, looking into Fiona's eyes showed a determined gleam. Sonic knew that gleam, it usually came with a glare, but that was then. Sonic nodded, agreeing to tell Fiona of the events that brought him into his current engagement.

"Long ago, I couldn't decide which of the two of you I truly loved..." Sonic began, was partly cut-off by Fiona.

"Though to be honest, you tilted towards HER more than you did me." Fiona said, emphasizing the word HER, and Sonic knew who Fiona was mentioning.

"But that aside, SHE isn't the one I'm marrying... And this engagement was forced unto me." Sonic paused, as he glared at his ring scornfully. "I'm being put in an arranged marriage. And the worst part is... I don't even know who I'm marrying..."

"That's... terrible..." Fiona said, sadness more evident in her tone than worry. "How did this all happen?"

"It all happend... yesterday..."

* * *

^ FLASHBACK ^

Sonic paced around the hallway of Castle Hedgehog, trying his best to patiently wait. But his efforts were slowly dwindling with each passing second... and its only been ten minutes...

"Where could they be!" Sonic said, nearly a shout as he stopped to look over at the clock in the corner. "Its already ten minutes passed seven! What's taking them so long!"

As Sonic continued to panic, he walked over to a small coffee table in the corner and picked up a small picture frame. As he looked at the frame, he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Don't sweat it, Sonic. Everything will be fine." He told himself in a whisper. He looked at the frame, it was an old photo of him and one of his childhood friends. A certain red-haired girl that has been the apple of his eye for as long as he could remember. He brought his other hand up, and traced his fingers across the frame with a contented and joyful stare.

It was then that his panic and nervousness flared up again.

"It's been two years since I took out Scourge and his goons... and Eggman's been pretty quiet... it's now or never, Sonic. So. Just. Calm. DOWN!" He shouted the last part as something touched his right shoulder, making him jump in place.

"What's wrong with you?" Asked a very feminine voice, who Sonic recognized immediately and could only describe as the most obnoxious sound he has ever heard.

"Darn it, Sonia! Don't do that!" He told his twin sister, who only replied with a soft smile and a light giggle.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Sonia said in reply, as he looked at her brother and noticed that he was looking a bit nervous.

"You seem nervous." Sonia said bluntly, pointing the obvious, which made Sonic drop his eyelids down half-way in annoyance.

"Gee, really?" Sonic said sarcastically, which made Sonia giggle even more.

"Sorry. Can I ask why?"

"Well, everything has been very quiet lately. So I figured it was high time I settled a matter that has been left unsettled for a VERY long time." Sonic said, clutching the frame he was holding tightly with each word.

"Right, right." Sonia said, knowing EXACTLY what Sonic was talking about. "So, where are they?"

"Don't know. That's why I'm so nervous! What if something happend! What if-!"

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Isn't that what you always tell us?"

Sonic was about to say something, when he heard a guard from the entrance yell: "Sire! Your guests have arrived!"

Sonic wasted no time as he dashed off to meet his guests. Sonia sighed, as she shrugged and dashed off to catch up with her twin brother. Sonic was first to arrive, followed by Sonia, as they met and greeted the guests.

"Hey there." Sonic said simply. Looking at the guests, but looking more intently at the the younger and more feminine of the two guests. That particular guest saw Sonic staring at her, and instantly smiled warmly at him before she rushed to give Sonic a hug.

"It's good to see you, Sonic!" She said with joy that nearly knocked Sonic off his feet.

"It's good to see you too, Sally!" Sonic replied with just as much enthusiasm as returning the hug and spun in place.

"My, my, what a lovely scene." The second and more older guest said, a somewhat proud tone present in his voice.

"It sure is, King Max." Sonia said, politely bowing to the king, which he chuckled at.

"No need for such formalities. Your just as much royal as we are." King Max replied, then turning his attention to Sonic and Sally. "Now then, what was it that you wanted to discuss Sonic?"

"Huh? Oh! Right!" Sonic replied, snapping out of his trance being with Sally. Sonic and Sally broke away, rubbing noses, as Sonic gestured to them to wait. He then rushed away, only returning seconds later with his hand behind his back.

"Sonic, (giggle) what's this about?" Sally asked, smiling all the while, trying her best to act as innocent as she possibly could. Sonic couldn't help but grin from ear-to-ear, as he looked at Sally with a mixture of pure joy and nervousness.

"Sal, you and I have known each other for a long time. And despite everything that has happend between us, there was something that I haven't said to you that I should've said a long time ago..."

"Oh, Sonic..." Sally said, covering her mouth as she looked at Sonic dreamily, almost as if she knew what was coming.

"This war has kept us pretty busy and apart for a long time. But now that there seems to be a momentary peace, I think it's high time I asked you the most important question that I think the two of us have been waiting a lifetime for..." And as Sonic said those words, he kneeled down and brought his hands forward. And in his hands, a small black box which carried an all too familiar object... a ring...

"Sally Acorn, will you marry me?" Sonic said, in words more humble than anything he has ever said in his entire life. Sally just looked at him, no, gazed at him with her eyes brimming with tears and a smile on her face. She quickly pushed herself forward, taking Sonic in yet another embrace.

"What took you so long?" Sally said jokingly in between her joyful sobs.

"I was just a little distracted. I'm sorry..." Sonic replied, returning the embrace yet again.

"Don't worry about it." Sally said, breaking away slightly to look at Sonic. "What matters is that we're together now."

And with that, the two shared a kiss. A kiss that the two of them have missed for a very long time. And it was the most passionate that the two have ever shared...

King Max and Sonia looked at each other and chuckled lightly before returning their gaze towards the two lovers. King Max couldn't be prouder. He's been waiting for this moment for a long time, ever since he saw both Sonic and Sally as children, he knew the two had a future together. He wanted to arrange an engagement between the two since childhood, but decided against it. He knew it was inevitable anyway, why bother?

"Isn't this... touching..." Someone said from within the room. All eyes turned towards the voice, even Sonic and Sally as they both stopped kissing each other.

The voice came from a tall slender figure, who hesitantly walked towards the group with saddened eyes as the figure bit its lip and twiddled with its fingers.

"Mother?" Both Sonic and Sonia said in unison.

"Queen Aleena?" King Max said looking at the hedgehog siblings mother. "What is it, you look troubled?"

"I was in the corridor to the right... I listened to everything my son has said... and... I'm sad to say... this marriage cannot be..." Queen Aleena said, her tone so nervous that the words seem to come out forcibly.

"What!" King Max yelled, both in shock and anger. "What's the meaning of this!"

"Mother? What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, his tone saddened and concerned.

Queen Aleena looked at her son, and turned away as she fought back tears.

"I'm sorry! But... but... but..." Queen Aleena stuttered, trying to say something. She couldn't bring herself to do it... to tell them something... that could make them hate her forever...

"Mother! What is it!" Sonia shouted, more concerned than angry.

"Sonic..." Queen Aleena said, turning to face her son and running towards him. Sonic stood up and caught his mother as she embraced him suddenly. "...I'm sorry, but... you cannot marry Sally..."

"W-why not!" Sonic shouted, trying to break away from his mother's embrace. But Queen Aleena's grasp was far too tight, and far too strong for him to break away.

"Sonic... you're already engaged... I... you're set for an... arranged marriage... with someone else..." Queen Aleena said sadly, more tears streaming down her face...

^ END OF FLASHBACK ^

* * *

"What happend then?" Fiona asked, sitting beside Sonic on his bed while Sonia stood in a corner. Tails and Rotor have left the room, under the orders of Sonia, going back to whatever duties they were supposed to be doing. Tails made a short fit about wanting to hear about what happend yesterday, but Sonia said it was a personal matter and that he was far too young for this sort of thing. Rotor had to forcibly carry Tails out.

"Everyone within the room was silent for a moment... but afterward, a series of events lead to an argument that began with King Max demanding an explanation. Mom told everyone that she can't tell us the details until tomorrow, which is today during dinner." Sonic explained, seemingly sad yet calm.

"I see..." Fiona said, then brought her hand up to hold on to Sonic's shoulder.

"Must have been hard for you..." Fiona said, with a comforting gaze and a small smile.

"Don't worry... I've been through worse..." Sonic said, and as he did, Fiona turned away with a guilty expression. Sonic knew immediately that he unintentionally, and unknowingly, brought up Fiona's betrayal.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean-" Sonic panicked, but Fiona cut him off.

"I know Sonic, don't worry." Fiona replied, before looking up to face her beloved. "I'm just glad everything between us is okay again."

Sonic smiled lightly at Fiona, before looking away slightly. This made Fiona raise an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?" Fiona asked.

"Nothing. At any rate, why don't you come with us back to the castle, Fiona." Sonic said, wanting to invite her after being apart for so long. "It'll be just like old times!"

"I don't know..." Fiona said nervously, but Sonic just shot her with one of his famous grins.

"It's okay, Fiona. You don't have to worry." Sonic told her, trying to ease whatever worries she had. It took a while, but Fiona eventually agreed. And with that settled, Sonic, Sonia and Fiona left Knothole for Castle Hedgehog to Mobotropolis.

As the trio went their way, Fiona kept her mind pre-occupied with only one thing: Who is Sonic's suitor?

What they all didn't know is that... it's someone they didn't even in million years would've expected...

* * *

To be Continued...


End file.
